Letter: Is the Tea Party racist or extreme?

Published: Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 11:46 p.m. CDT

To the Editor:

With many liberals and Democrats calling us racists and some Republicans calling us extremists, it’s time that we clarify for you what the tea party movement is all about, especially the part of it here in DeKalb County. While in a multifaceted group of about 50,000 Americans I’m sure there are a few, the overwhelming majority of tea party folks are neither racists nor extremists.

How could we be racists when one of our favorites for president in the 2012 elections was Herman Cain, a highly successful businessman who happens to be black? Other African-Americans to whom we look to for leadership are prominent neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson; Sen. Tim Scott; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; former Congressman Allen West; economist Thomas Sowell and many, many other people of color.

These are not token mouthpieces as described recently. These are true conservatives and tea party supporters. They are too intelligent, accomplished and independent to be puppets of anyone. Take the time to hear and read what they have to say. You might find you agree with them.

We are extremists only if you believe it is extreme to believe that the United States Constitution, as written and amended, is extreme. We believe that, as intended by our founders in the 10th Amendment, the federal government’s power and reach should be only what our Constitution specifies. Federal spending should likewise be limited to carrying out these responsibilities as cost efficiently as possible. All other responsibilities are the states’ and the people’s – an arrangement that places these responsibilities closest to the needs they are meant to serve Furthermore, the rights of the people affirmed and protected therein are sacrosanct.

If you feel our Constitution should be changed, do so by amending it – not by executive, legislative or judicial activism. Otherwise our freedoms are in great jeopardy. Think, no matter your beliefs, of the worst composition of the presidency, Congress and Supreme Court you can imagine. What if they were in charge?

Our Constitution’s limits on federal power provide a healthy economic environment for our system of free enterprise funded by private capital – the same economic system that has provided us opportunity and prosperity beyond that of all other systems.